Information processing apparatus, method for controlling information processing apparatus, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

The present invention enables a user to perform an operation of closing a software keyboard displayed on a display unit by an operation to a predetermined input item with use of a hardware keyboard. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus includes receiving an input to a predetermined input item via a software keyboard displayed on a display unit, receiving an input to the predetermined input item via a hardware keyboard connected to the information processing apparatus, inputting a character to the predetermined input item according to the key input received via the software keyboard or the hardware keyboard, and closing a display of the software keyboard displayed on the display unit if the input to the predetermined input item which is received via the hardware keyboard satisfies a predetermined condition during the display of the software keyboard.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to information processing and,more particularly, to an information processing apparatus, a method forcontrolling an information processing apparatus, and a storage medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional information processing apparatuses offer, as a method forenabling a user to input a character thereto, the method of displaying asoftware keyboard (hereinafter also referred to as “soft keyboard”) on adisplay unit equipped with a touch panel to allow a user to input acharacter by pressing a soft key on the soft keyboard.

Another method for character input is connecting a hardware keyboard(hereinafter also referred to as “hard keyboard”) to an informationprocessing apparatus and pressing a hard key on the hard keyboard toinput a character.

For example, when a user wants to input a long character string in apredetermined input item in order for processing to be performed by aninformation processing apparatus, the user may prefer to input thecharacters with using a hard keyboard which can realize a fast input ofcharacters.

In this case, the user first specifies an input item displayed on adisplay unit. When the user specifies the input item, the informationprocessing apparatus is set in an input mode, and displays a softkeyboard on the display unit. In this state, the user inputs charactersfrom a hardware keyboard if any hardware keyboard is connected to theinformation processing apparatus.

As a conventional technique for converting an input from a hard keyboardinto an input on a soft keyboard, there is known the invention discussedin Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-293407.

However, after a user finishes inputting characters with use of the hardkeyboard, if the hard keyboard is a general-purpose keyboard, the usercannot easily close a soft keyboard because such a hard keyboard doesnot have a key for closing the soft keyboard. Closing the soft keyboardis possible by pressing a button displayed on the soft keyboard that isprepared to close the soft keyboard. However, this method requires auser to move his/her hand from the hard keyboard to the soft keyboard topress the button for closing the soft keyboard after the user finishesinputting characters every time the user inputs characters, therebyfailing to realize intuitive closing of the soft keyboard.

Therefore, the user cannot carry out a series of operations fromcharacter input using the hard keyboard to closing of the soft keyboardafter completion of the character input, only from an input from thehard keyboard. In this way, the conventional art has an issue of pooroperability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, an informationprocessing apparatus includes a first receiving unit configured toreceive an input to a predetermined input item via a software keyboarddisplayed on a display unit, a second receiving unit configured toreceive an input to the predetermined input item via a hardware keyboardconnected to the information processing apparatus, a character inputtingunit configured to input a character to the predetermined input itemaccording to a key input received via the software keyboard or thehardware keyboard, and a control unit configured to close a display ofthe software keyboard displayed on the display unit if the input to thepredetermined input item which is received via the hardware keyboardsatisfies a predetermined condition during the display of the softwarekeyboard.

Further features and aspects of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of exemplaryembodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments, features,and aspects of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imageforming apparatus.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a user interface (UI) displayed on adisplay unit.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of parameters for calling a soft keyboard.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of a UI displayed on the displayunit.

FIG. 5 illustrates states of a character input applied to an input areaillustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a UI displayed on the display unit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing procedure of theimage forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a top view illustrating an example of a universal serial bus(USB) keyboard.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing procedure of theimage forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing procedure of theimage forming apparatus.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a UI displayed on the display unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing procedure of theimage forming apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a data processing procedure of theimage forming apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the inventionwill be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described basedon an image forming apparatus which is an example of an informationprocessing apparatus.

<Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus>

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imageforming apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a central processing unit (CPU) 101 executescontrol programs stored in a memory 102 to realize various types ofinput processing, output processing, and predetermined processing, andmake determinations. The memory 102 stores, for example, the controlprograms read by the CPU 101, various settings, and font information onscreens. Procedures illustrated in flowcharts that will be describedbelow are all stored in the memory 102 and is performed by the CPU 101.The memory 102 is constituted by, for example, a read only memory (ROM),a random access memory (RAM), a video random access memory (VRAM), ahard disk drive (HDD), or any combination thereof, but is hereinreferred to as “memory 102” for convenience of description.

An input/output processing unit 103 exchanges various types ofinformation with an input apparatus, such as a software keyboard and aUSB keyboard 110, and an output apparatus such as a display unit 105.Hereinafter, the software keyboard is also referred to as “softkeyboard”. Further, hereinafter, the USB keyboard 110 is also referredto as “hardware keyboard”. A soft keyboard screen including the softkeyboard is displayed on the display unit 105. The display unit 105 isintegrally constructed with a touch panel (operation unit 106). The CPU101 recognizes a key corresponding to a position pressed through thetouch panel, from keys included in the soft keyboard screen displayed onthe display unit 105, as a key to which a user instructs an input. Thecontent that the user inputs through the soft keyboard or the USBkeyboard 110 is displayed on the display unit 105 so that the user canvisibly check it.

An image forming unit 104 compresses and expands image data. The imageforming unit 104 includes a sheet feeding unit, a printing unit, and asheet discharge unit, so that the image forming unit 104 appliesprinting based on the image data onto a sheet fed by the sheet feedingunit according to an instruction form the CPU 101, and discharges theprinted sheet to the sheet discharge unit. The operation unit 106 is thetouch panel constructed integrally with the display unit 105. Further,the operation unit 106 may have hard keys constructed integrally withthe image forming apparatus, in addition to the touch panel. Theoperation unit 106 receives an input from a user.

A network communication unit 109 receives image data or a command suchas a print instruction via a network, and transmits image data and acommand to an external apparatus via the network. A program memory unit115 is constituted by a nonvolatile memory medium such as a hard disk,and stores the control programs for causing the CPU 101 to perform aplurality of types of operations.

Examples of the control programs include a USB keyboard processing unit108, an input/output processing unit 103, a soft keyboard processingunit 107, a status determination unit 111, a key input processing unit112, a connection detection unit 113, and a hard key input processingunit 114. In the present exemplary embodiment, these control programsare loaded onto the memory 102 and are executed by the CPU 101.Alternatively, the USB keyboard processing unit 108, the input/outputprocessing unit 103, the soft keyboard processing unit 107, the statusdetermination unit 111, the key input processing unit 112, theconnection detection unit 113, and the hard key input processing unit114 may be each embodied by dedicated hardware.

The input/output processing unit 103 includes the soft keyboardprocessing unit 107 for controlling the soft keyboard screen displayedon the display unit 105, and the USB keyboard processing unit 108 forcontrolling the USB keyboard 110 connected to the image formingapparatus. The soft keyboard processing unit 107 includes the statusdetermination unit 111 which determines the status of the soft keyboardscreen, and the key input processing unit 112 which processes an inputto a soft key.

The USB keyboard processing unit 108 includes the connection detectionunit 113 which detects whether the USB keyboard 110 is connected, andthe hard key input processing unit 114 which processes an input to ahard key. In the present exemplary embodiment, the USB keyboard isdescribed as a specific example of the hard keyboard (hereinafterreferred to as “keyboard”) which is detachably attached to the imageforming apparatus, but the hard keyboard may be embodied by another typeof keyboard that is not a USB keyboard. Further, the USB keyboard 110may be configured to be connected to the image forming apparatus througha wired connection, or may be configured to be connected to the imageforming apparatus through a wireless connection.

FIG. 1 illustrates a multifunction peripheral provided with the imageforming unit for printing data on a sheet and the network communicationunit as an example of the image forming apparatus. However, the imageforming apparatus is not limited to this configuration. The imageforming apparatus may be embodied by an apparatus provided with only asingle function, or may be embodied by a multifunction peripheralprovided with an image reading unit in addition to the image formingunit and the network communication unit.

Next, the configuration of the display unit 105 of the image formingapparatus will be described.

<Configuration of Display Unit of Image Forming Apparatus>

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a user interface displayed on thedisplay unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 1. As described above, the displayunit 105 is integrally constructed with the touch panel functioning asthe operation unit 106. Therefore, the CPU 101 recognizes the content ofuser's instruction by detecting, via the touch panel, that the usertouches (presses) a position corresponding to an icon (button)indicating each setting item displayed on the display unit 105.

A COPY icon 201 which switches the screen to a setting screen for usinga copy function is displayed on the display unit 105 illustrated in FIG.2. The screen illustrated in FIG. 2 is in such a state that the settingscreen for using the copy function is displayed. The setting screenincludes keys corresponding to a plurality of setting items for a copyoperation. A SEND/FAX icon 202 which switches the screen to a settingscreen for using a transmission function or a facsimile function is alsodisplayed on the display unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 2.

Further, a BOX icon 203 which switches the screen to a setting screenfor using a box function (function of storing image data into a box) isalso displayed on the display unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 2.Furthermore, a WEB BROWSER icon 204 which switches the screen to ascreen for using a web browsing function is also displayed on thedisplay unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 2. It should be noted that theseicons and keys are just an example, and other keys may be displayed onthe display unit 105, such as a system status/cancel icon for switchingthe screen to a screen for displaying the system status of the imageforming apparatus and a job that the CPU 101 is currently processing.

Next, internal processing when a user presses the icon (button)displayed on the display unit 105 will be described.

<Internal Processing at Image Unit>

When the input/output processing unit 103 detects that a user presses abutton on the display unit 105, the input/output processing unit 103detects a coordinate of a position pressed by the user (i.e. pressedcoordinate) and screen information indicating which screen is currentlydisplayed on the display unit 105. Then, the input/output processingunit 103 calls and performs the corresponding processing from acorrespondence table of “processing corresponding to displayed screensand pressed coordinates” stored in advance in the memory 102. Theinternal processing when a user presses an item for calling the softkeyboard will be described below.

If execution of the above-described processing by the input/outputprocessing unit 103 necessitates a change in the display content of thedisplay unit 105, the CPU 101 generates display image data to bedisplayed on the display unit 105 based on information in the memory102. Then, the input/output processing unit 103 changes the displaycontent by transferring the generated display image data to the VRAM ofthe memory 102.

The internal processing and the image display processing in response topressing of the button are performed in all of the followingdescriptions as common processing, and therefore will be omitted in thefollowing descriptions. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, the CPU101 is in charge of execution of processing and making determinations,and setting values, results of processing execution, and the systemstatus are stored in the memory 102 in the following descriptions.

Next, the soft keyboard screen displayed on the display unit 105 (thescreen showing the soft keyboard) will be described.

<Soft Keyboard Screen>

There is a plurality of types of soft keyboard screens, and a displayedone of these types is determined by a parameter at the time of displayof the soft keyboard screen. The parameters are stored in the memory 102in such a manner that they are associated with items for calling softkeyboards (hereinafter referred to as “calling items”), as FIG. 3illustrates an example thereof.

When a user presses a calling item displayed on the display unit 105,the input/output processing unit 103 detects the pressed coordinate andthe currently displayed screen, and calls the corresponding processingfrom the memory 102. The processing when the calling item is pressedincludes calling a parameter stored in the memory 102 so as to beassociated with the pressed calling item, and passing the parameter tothe soft keyboard processing unit 107.

Upon reception of the parameter, the soft keyboard processing unit 107displays the soft keyboard screen according to the parameter on thedisplay unit 105. FIG. 3 illustrates a specific example of theparameters. Each line illustrated in FIG. 3 represents a calling item(for example, “SUBJECT”), and each row represents a parameter (forexample, “TITLE”). For one calling time, a plurality of parameters isstored in the memory 102 in such a manner that they are associated withthe corresponding calling item.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of the screen including thecalling items and an example of the soft keyboard screen displayed bypressing of the calling item (pressing of a button indicating a callingitem).

FIG. 4A illustrates a send setting screen which is displayed when a userpresses the SEND/FAX icon 202 illustrated in FIG. 2. The send settingscreen includes a plurality of input items used in transmissionprocessing performed by the image forming apparatus. The image formingapparatus receives user's input applied to each of the input items.Further, after the screen illustrated in FIG. 4A is displayed, the softkeyboard screen illustrated in FIG. 4B is displayed on the display unit105 upon detection of pressing of a button which will be describedbelow.

The soft keyboard screen illustrated in FIG. 4B may be displayed in amanner overlapping the screen illustrated in FIG. 4A or may be displayedby replacing the screen illustrated in FIG. 4A. The screen illustratedin FIG. 4B is a soft keyboard screen displayed when a user presses thecalling item “SUBJECT” (calling item 1 button 401) on the screenillustrated in FIG. 4A. The soft keyboard screen is used when a userinputs a subject for transmission of image data from the image formingapparatus via the network communication unit 109.

The soft keyboard screen includes a title area 406 which shows a titleindicating contents to be input with the soft keyboard. In this example,the title area 406 shows the “TITLE” information of the parametersillustrated in FIG. 3 without any modification. Therefore, “SUBJECT (MAX128 CHARACTERS)” is displayed on the screen illustrated in FIG. 4B.

The soft keyboard screen includes an input character display area(abbreviated as “input area”) 407, which shows the content that a userinputs. The input character display area 407 shows characters accordingto the “keyboard type” parameter and an input mode 411. The number ofcharacters that a user can input in the input area 407 is determined bythe “maximum number of enterable characters” parameter.

Further, the number of lines that a user can input in the input area 407is determined by the “MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ENTERABLE LINES” parameter.Further, the soft keyboard screen includes a key area 412 which showsenterable characters and symbols, and a soft key (button) indicating“SHIFT”. A combination of the key area 412 and a cursor button area 410(which will be described below) is referred to as the soft keyboard.

Further, the soft keyboard screen includes a cancel button 408 which auser presses to close the soft keyboard screen (delete the input contentand return to the screen showing the calling items).

Still further, the soft keyboard screen includes an OK button 409 whicha user presses to close the soft keyboard screen (finalize the inputcontent, and close the soft keyboard to return to the screen showing thecalling items).

Still further, the soft keyboard screen includes the cursor button area410 which displays buttons for moving a cursor (the cursor indicates aposition where a user inputs data, but is not illustrated in FIG. 4B)displayed in the input area 407. FIG. 4B also illustrates four buttons,i.e., up, down, left, and right buttons.

Still further, the soft keyboard screen includes an input mode 411. Whena user presses this button, the input modes, such as “HIRAGANA ANDKANJI”, “ALPHABET”, “FIXED PHRASE”, etc., are displayed as a pull-downlist and the user can select the input mode.

The input modes are determined based on the “KEYBOARD TYPE” parameter.The keyboard type “TWO-BYTE KEYBOARD” provides options of all inputmodes, and a default setting thereof is “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”.

The keyboard type “ONE-BYTE KEYBOARD” provides options of “ALPHABET” and“FIXED PHRASE”, and a default setting thereof is “ALPHABET”.

The keyboard type “PASSWORD KEYBOARD” provides options of “ALPHABET” and“FIXED PHRASE”, and a default setting thereof is “ALPHABET”. The softkeyboard screen illustrated in FIG. 4B is a soft keyboard screencorresponding to “SUBJECT”, and the default setting “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”is displayed as the input mode 411.

When a user wants to input only alphabets, the user selects “ALPHABET”.Similarly, when a user wants to input a predetermined fixed phrase, theuser selects “FIXED PHRASE”. Similarly, when the user wants to inputhiragana and kanji characters, the user selects “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”from the pull down list.

Now, the operation in each input mode will be described. The “HIRAGANAAND KANJI” input mode is a mode for writing Japanese words using thecommonly-used Roman letter input method. More specifically, when a userinputs an alphabet, the CPU 101 stores the input alphabet into the RAMof the memory 102. Then, the CPU 101 determines whether a hiraganacharacter corresponding to the input alphabet exists in the ROM of thememory 102. If the CPU 101 determines that a hiragana charactercorresponding to the input alphabet exists in the ROM of the memory 102,the CPU 101 automatically converts the input alphabet into thecorresponding hiragana character.

Then, the CPU 101 stores the hiragana character into the RAM of thememory 102 while displaying the hiragana character in the input area407. On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that the hiraganacharacter corresponding to the input alphabet does not exist in the ROMof the memory 102, the CPU 101 stores the input alphabet into the RAM ofthe memory 102 without any conversion while displaying the storedalphabet in the input area 407.

When a “SPACE/CONVERT” key on the soft keyboard screen is pressed whilethe hiragana character is displayed, a conversion candidate stored inthe ROM of the memory 102 is displayed in the input area 407. Every timethe “SPACE/CONVERT” key is pressed, another conversion candidateappears.

When a user wants to finalize the conversion candidate (display acharacter by its finalized character), the user presses an “ENTER” key.When the user presses the “ENTER” key, the CPU 101 finalizes theconversion candidate, converts the input character stored in the RAM ofthe memory 102 into the finalized conversion candidate, and displays thefinalized conversion candidate on the display unit 105 so that the usercan recognize that the conversion candidate is finalized. This is the“HIRAGANA AND KANJI” input mode.

Next, the “ALPHABET” input mode will be described. The “ALPHABET” inputmode is a mode for inputting one-byte alphabets (including numbers andsymbols). In the “ALPHABET” input mode, when a user inputs an alphabet,the CPU 101 stores the input alphabet into the RAM of the memory 102without any conversion, and displays the stored alphabet in the inputarea 407 as a finalized character without any conversion. It should benoted that, when the “KEYBOARD TYPE” parameter is “PASSWORD KEYBOARD”,the CPU 101 always replaces a character with the symbol “*” to displayit in the input area 407 (for example, when a user inputs “a”, the CPU101 displays “*” in the input area 407). This is the “ALPHABET” inputmode.

Next, the “FIXED PHRASE” input mode will be described. The “FIXEDPHRASE” input mode is a mode for displaying a fixed phrase which isstored in the memory 102 in advance in the input area 407. If the “FIXEDPHRASE” is selected (pressed), the content of a predetermined fixedphrase is displayed in the input area 407 as finalized characterswithout any conversion. This is the “FIXED PHRASE” input mode.

After a user inputs characters (including symbols, numbers, and a linebreak) and presses the OK button 409 on the soft keyboard screenconfigured as described above, the CPU 101 stores the input charactersinto the RAM of the memory 102 in such a manner that the characters areassociated with the calling item, and closes the soft keyboard screen.Then, the CPU 101 displays the character string stored in the RAM of thememory 102 in such a manner that the character string is associated withthe calling item in an input value display area 405 corresponding to thecalling item.

Next, a character input on the soft keyboard screen will be described. Acase when a user inputs “kyou (kanji)” in the input mode “HIRAGANA ANDKANJI” is described as an example with reference to FIG. 5 (FIG. 5illustrates only the input area 407 on the soft keyboard screen). Theuser first inputs “kyou” from the soft keyboard as a character input toset the characters “kyou (kanji)” as finalized characters.

FIG. 5 illustrates a display transition in the input area 407illustrated in FIG. 4B. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of a userinterface displayed on the display unit 105 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIGS.6A and 6B are an example of the screen display resulting from the keyinput processing with use of the soft keyboard illustrated in FIG. 5.

First, a user presses the soft key indicated as “k” with use of the softkeyboard (hereinafter, such an action will be expressed as “press the“k” soft key”, or “input “k””).

Accordingly, the input/output processing unit 103 displays “k” in theinput area 407. At this time, “k” is highlighted with a color added tothe background of “k”, which indicates that “k” is an unfinalizedcharacter. The term “unfinalized character” means that a character is inan unfinalized state (in a state still allowing conversion to anothercharacter). In the following description, unless otherwise indicated, itis assumed that the content input on the soft keyboard screen isdisplayed in the input area 407.

After the user presses the “k” soft key in this way, the user furtherpresses the “y” soft key. Accordingly, “ky” is displayed in the inputarea 407 as unfinalized characters. Further, the user sequentiallypresses the “o” and “u” soft keys.

As a result, since the current input mode is the “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”mode, “kyou (hiragana)” is displayed in an unfinalized state as thehiragana characters corresponding to “kyou”. In this state, the userfurther presses the “SPACE/CONVERT” soft key to convert the hiraganacharacters into the kanji characters. As a result, “kyou (kanji)” isdisplayed as unfinalized characters.

In this state, the user further presses the “ENTER” soft key to finalizeunfinalized characters. As a result, “kyou (kanji)” is displayed asfinalized characters. When the user presses the OK button 409 on thesoft keyboard screen in this state, the CPU 101 closes the soft keyboardscreen, and stores the character string “kyou (kanji)” in the RAM of thememory 102 in such a manner that this character string is associatedwith the calling item 1.

At the same time, the CPU 101 displays the screen showing the callingitem 1 on the display unit 105, and displays “kyou (kanji)” in the inputvalue display area 405 corresponding to the calling item 1 (refer toFIG. 6B). One calling item corresponds to one input value display area,and the input value display area 405 corresponding to the calling item 1illustrated in FIG. 6B is the area next to the calling item 1.

Next, internal processing when a soft key is pressed on the softkeyboard screen will be described with reference to a flowchartillustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is the flowchart illustrating an example of a data processingprocedure of the image forming apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment. The CPU 101 loads the control programs stored inthe memory 102 or the program memory unit 115 onto the memory 102, andexecutes them, so that each step in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7can be realized. The control programs include the USB keyboardprocessing unit 108, the input/output processing unit 103, the softkeyboard processing unit 107, the status determination unit 111, the keyinput processing unit 112, the connection detection unit 113, and thehard key input processing unit 114.

<Internal Processing when Soft Key is Pressed>

When a user presses any soft key on the soft keyboard screen illustratedin FIG. 4, the CPU 101 detects the pressed coordinate that the userpresses, and the currently displayed screen information.

Then, in step S701, the CPU 101 executes the input/output processingunit 103 to determine that the currently displayed screen is a screensubject to a determination by the soft keyboard processing unit 107, andto detect the pressed coordinate and the currently displayed screeninformation.

Next, in step S702, the CPU 101 executes the soft keyboard processingunit 107 to determine a layout status of the current soft keyboardscreen by the status determination unit 111 of the soft keyboardprocessing unit 107. The “layout status” indicates which type ofcharacters to be input in the current status from a plurality of typesof characters such as the hiragana characters and alphabets/numbers, andwhether characters to be input in capital letters or lower-case lettersin the current status. The layout status is determined based on theinput mode (such as “HIRAGANA AND KANJI” and “ALPHABET”) selected on thesoft keyboard screen, and the information about whether the “SHIFT” keyis pressed.

After the determination of the layout status, in step S703, the CPU 101executes the soft keyboard processing unit 107 to identify the pressedsoft key based on a “correspondence table containing soft keyscorresponding to pressed coordinates and layout statuses” stored inadvance in the ROM of the memory 102.

After the CPU 101 identifies the pressed soft key in this way, in stepS704, the CPU 101 executes the soft keyboard processing unit 107 toidentify a key identification (ID) from a “correspondence tablecontaining key IDs corresponding to soft keys” stored in advance in theROM of the memory 102.

Then, in step S705, the CPU 101 executes the key input processing unit112 and the status determination unit 111 to determine the input statusof the soft keyboard screen.

The input status of the soft keyboard screen can be determined based onthe selected input mode, existence or absence of an unfinalizedcharacter in a string displayed in the input area, the maximum number ofenterable characters, the maximum number of enterable lines, and thekeyboard type.

Next, in step S706, the CPU 101 executes the key input processing unit112 to determine the input state to identify the processing from a“correspondence table containing processing corresponding to key IDs andinput statuses” stored in advance in the ROM of the memory 102, andperforms the identified processing.

For example, assuming that the key ID is 97 (when a user presses the “a”soft key), the CPU 101 displays “a” as a finalized character if theinput mode is the “ALPHABET” mode, while the CPU 101 displays “a(hiragana)” as an unfinalized character if the input mode is “HIRAGANAAND KANJI”. Even in the case where the key ID is 50 and the input modeis “ALPHABET”, the CPU 101 displays an error message if a display of thecharacter “a” will cause an excess over the maximum number of charactersthat can be input on the current soft keyboard screen.

Further, even in the case where the key ID is 50 and the input mode is“ALPHABET”, the CPU 101 displays “*” if the keyboard type is the“PASSWORD KEYBOARD” (the CPU 101 displays “*” on the screen but sets “a”as data in the memory 102).

For convenience of description, it is assumed in the present exemplaryembodiment that all key IDs are defined in the “correspondence tablecontaining processing corresponding to key IDs and input statuses”.Therefore, the CPU 101 necessarily performs some kind of processingbased on the key ID (for example, in response to the key ID of a keycorresponding to processing that the CPU 101 cannot perform, the CPU 101displays a message indicating an input error in the input area 407).

In this way, the CPU 101 functions as a first receiving unit whichreceives an input to a predetermined input item displayed on the displayunit 105 via the soft keyboard displayed on the display unit 105.Further, as will be described below, the CPU 101 functions as a secondreceiving unit which receives an input to a predetermined input item viathe USB keyboard as a hardware keyboard connected to the image formingapparatus.

Now, a description will be given of internal processing for reflecting,onto the soft keyboard screen, an input issued through the USB keyboardconnected to the image forming apparatus as an example of a hard keyinput.

<Internal Processing of Input from USB Keyboard>

FIG. 8 is a top view illustrating an example of the USB keyboard 110illustrated in FIG. 1. The USB keyboard 110 in the present exemplaryembodiment is a generally used keyboard provided with a USB connector801 for a connection to a USB port of the image forming apparatus, andtherefore the description of its internal structure and operation methodwill be omitted herein.

In the following, processing when the USB keyboard 110 is connected tothe image forming apparatus, and processing for acquiring input keyinformation will be described with reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processingprocedure of the image forming apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment. The CPU 101 loads the control programs stored inthe program memory unit 115 onto the memory 102, and executes them, sothat each step in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 9 can be realized.The control programs include the USB keyboard processing unit 108, theinput/output processing unit 103, the soft keyboard processing unit 107,the status determination unit 111, the key input processing unit 112,the connection detection unit 113, and the hard key input processingunit 114.

A user connects the USB keyboard 110 (to be exact, the USB connector 801of the USB keyboard 110) to the USB port (not illustrated) of the imageforming apparatus. In step S901, upon the connection of the USB keyboard110, the CPU 101 detects that a device is connected to the USB port byexecuting the connection detection unit 113. There is a plurality ofspecific connection detection methods, and in the present example, theCPU 101 detects a device connection by the method of regularly pollingand monitoring information from the USB port by executing the connectiondetection unit 113.

Next, in step S902, after the CPU 101 detects that a device is connectedto the USB port, the CPU 101 determines whether the connected device isthe USB keyboard 110 by executing the USB keyboard processing unit 108.There is a plurality of specific determination methods for determiningwhether the device connected to the USB port is the USB keyboard 110.The present example adopts the method in which the CPU 101 generates anevent file at a specific position (“/dev/input/directory” of the HDD) inthe memory 102 of the image forming apparatus upon a connection of theUSB keyboard 110, and the CPU 101 checks the generated event file.

As a result, if the CPU 101 determines that the connected device is theUSB keyboard 110 (YES in step S902), the CPU 101 starts processingduring a keyboard connection (steps S903 to S905).

On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines in step S902 that theconnected device is not the USB keyboard 110 by executing the USBkeyboard processing unit 108 (NO in step S902), the processing isstopped and then is ended.

Next, the processing that is performed during the USB keyboardconnection corresponding to steps S903 to S905 will be described. Instep S903, if there is no key input from the USB keyboard 110 (NO instep S903), the CPU 101 waits until an issuance of a key input from theUSB keyboard 110. If a key input is issued from the USB keyboard 110 (tobe exact, any key on the USB keyboard 110 is pressed) (YES in stepS903), in step S904, the CPU 101 acquires a hard key ID from the eventfile by executing the hard key processing unit 114. After the CPU 101acquires the hard key ID in this way, the CPU 101 acquires thecorresponding key ID from a “correspondence table containing key IDscorresponding to hard key IDs” stored in advance in the memory 102.

In this example, it is assumed that the key ID acquired when the softkey is pressed as described above and the key ID acquired at this timecan be the same ID when the key IDs represent the same character. Then,in step S905, similarly to the processing when the soft key is pressedas described above, the CPU 101 determines the status of the softkeyboard screen, and performs processing corresponding to the key ID bythe key input processing unit 112. The processing performed by the CPU101 in step 905 will be described below with reference to FIG. 10.

In this way, the CPU 101 can convert the hard key ID corresponding tothe key that the user presses on the USB keyboard into the key IDcorresponding to the hard key ID, and perform processing correspondingto the key ID.

Next, processing of closing the soft keyboard screen by a key input fromthe USB keyboard in the image forming apparatus will be described withreference to FIG. 10.

<Close of Soft Keyboard Screen from USB Keyboard>

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processingprocedure in the image forming apparatus according to the presentexemplary embodiment. The CPU 101 loads the control programs stored inthe program memory unit 115 onto the memory 102, and executes them, sothat each step in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 can be realized.The control programs include the USB keyboard processing unit 108, theinput/output processing unit 103, the soft keyboard processing unit 107,the status determination unit 111, the key input processing unit 112,the connection detection unit 113, and the hard key input processingunit 114.

In step S1001, when a user performs a key input via the USB keyboard110, the CPU 101 acquires the key ID corresponding to the input key, andinformation used for performing processing from step S1002 to stepS1006, which will be described below, by executing the key inputprocessing unit 112. Then in step S1002, the CPU 101 determines whetherthe key input is an input from the USB keyboard 110.

If the CPU 101 determines that the key input is not from the USBkeyboard 110 (NO in step S1002), then in step S1003, the CPU 101processes the key input on the USB keyboard in the same manner as theprocessing for a normal key input via the soft keyboard, by executingthe key input processing unit 112. Then, the processing is ended. Theprocessing performed in step S1003 corresponds to the key ID of apressed key on the software keyboard. For example, the CPU 101 inputs acharacter if the pressed key is a character key. Examples of thecharacter include the hiragana characters, the katakana characters,symbols, alphabets, and numbers.

On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that the key input is fromthe USB keyboard 110 (YES in step S1002), then in step S1004, the CPU101 further determines whether the received key input is a specific keyby executing the key input processing unit 112. The “specific key”refers to, for example, an “ENTER” key illustrated in FIG. 8. The ENTERkey is just an example, and the specific key may be another key capableof being used for finalizing an input to an input item and beginning anew line regardless of whether the key is called ENTER key.

If the CPU 101 determines that the received key input is not thespecific key (NO in step S1004), then in step S1003, the CPU 101processes the key input on the USB keyboard according to the key ID inthe same manner as the processing for a normal key input on the softkeyboard, by executing the key input processing unit 112. The processingperformed at this time corresponds to the key ID of the pressed key onthe USB keyboard. For example, if the pressed key is a character key,the CPU 101 inputs a character. Examples of the character include thehiragana characters, the katakana characters, symbols, alphabets, andnumbers.

On the other hand, if the received key input is the specific key (YES instep S1004), then in step S1005, the key input processing unit 112further determines whether there is any unfinalized character in theinput area 407 on the soft keyboard screen by the status determinationunit 111.

If there is any unfinalized character (YES in step S1005), then in stepS1003, the CPU 101 processes the key input on the USB keyboard 110 inthe same manner as the processing for normal pressing of a key on thesoft keyboard by executing the key input processing unit 112. Theprocessing performed at this time is according to pressing of thespecific key. For example, if the specific key is the ENTER key, the CPU101 finalizes an unfinalized character.

On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that there is nounfinalized character in the input area 407 (NO in step 1005), then inS1006, the CPU 101 determines whether an input of a plurality of linesis prohibited based on the maximum number of enterable lines from theparameters received during the display of the keyboard screen. The CPU101 makes the determination by executing the key input processing unit112 and the status determination unit 111.

If the CPU 101 determines that an input of a plurality of lines is notprohibited (the maximum number of enterable lines is two or more) (NO instep S1006), then in step S1003, the CPU 101 processes the key input onthe USB keyboard 110 in the same manner as the processing for normalpressing of a key on the soft keyboard by executing the key inputprocessing unit 112. In this case, since the maximum number of enterablelines is not one but two or more, the CPU 101 inserts a line breakaccording to the pressing of the specific key. At this time, the CPU 101may display a signal indicating a line break or may not display it.

On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines in step S1006 that an inputof a plurality of lines is prohibited (the maximum number of enterablelines is one) (YES in step S1006), the present processing proceeds tostep S1007.

In step S1007, the CPU 101 performs a closing operation of the softkeyboard screen by executing the key input processing unit 112 toconvert the key input into the processing performed when a user pressesthe OK button 409 on the soft keyboard screen. Then, the processing isended. At this time, the CPU 101 stores the characters input in theinput area 407 in the RAM of the memory 102 in such a manner that thecharacters are associated with the calling item, and then the CPU 101closes the display of the soft keyboard screen. The CPU 101 displays thecharacters stored in the RAM of the memory 102 in the area correspondingto the calling item, when the CPU 101 displays the screen including thecalling item illustrated in FIG. 4A on the display unit 105. Then, theprocessing is ended.

According to the above-described processing, the soft keyboard screencan be closed if predetermined conditions (for example, steps S1004 to1006) are satisfied when a user inputs the “ENTER” key on the USBkeyboard.

Specific Example

The processing illustrated in FIG. 10 will be described more concretelybased on an example of displaying the soft keyboard screen for theparameter “SUBJECT” illustrated FIG. 3 on the display unit 105,inputting “Kyou ha hare (kanji and hiragana) (i.e., It is fine today)”,and then closing the soft keyboard screen.

It is assumed that an initial status of the soft keyboard screen is inthe input mode “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”, and there is no character input inthe input area 407. Further, it is assumed that the ENTER key on the USBkeyboard is used as the specific key for closing the soft keyboard (alsoin other embodiments, the ENTER key is used as the specific key).

First, when a user inputs “k” using the USB keyboard 110 (to be exact,when the user presses a key with the character “k” printed thereon onthe USB keyboard), the CPU 101 acquires 37 as the hard key IDcorresponding to the “k” key by executing the hard key processing unit114. Then, the CPU 101 acquires the key ID (a value of the key ID is“107”) corresponding to the hard key ID from the memory 102.

In step S1001, the CPU 101 receives the above-described key ID byexecuting the key input processing unit 112, and then in step S1002, theCPU 101 determines whether the received key ID is an input from the USBkeyboard 110. Then, after the CPU 101 determines that the received keyID is an input from the USB keyboard 110, in step S1004, the CPU 101further determines whether the received key ID is the key ID of thespecific key by executing the key input processing unit 112.

The received key ID at this time is “107”, and is not “10” that is thekey ID of the ENTER key serving as the specific key in the presentexemplary embodiment. Therefore, in step S1003, the CPU 101 performs thesame processing as the processing when a user presses a soft key on thesoft keyboard screen by executing the key input processing unit 112.

In this example, the input mode is “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”, and nocharacter is displayed in the input area 407. Therefore, upon thereception of the key ID “107”, the CPU 101 displays the character “k” inthe input area 407 in an unfinalized state (since the key ID “107” isthe same value as the key ID obtained when a user presses the “k” key onthe soft keyboard).

Subsequently, when the user inputs the “y” key from the USB keyboard110, the key input processing unit 112 adds “y” in an unfinalized stateto the input area 407 on the soft keyboard screen according to the sameprocessing as the processing for the above-described input of the “k”key. As a result, the status of characters displayed in the input area407 is changed into “ky”.

Subsequently, when the user inputs the “o” key and the “u” key from theUSB keyboard 110, the key input processing unit 112 displays “Kyou(hiragana)” in the input area 407 as unfinalized characters according tothe same processing as the processing for the above-described input ofthe “k” key.

When the user further inputs “SPACE/CONVERT” from the USB keyboard 110,the key input processing unit 112 displays “Kyou (kanji)” in the inputarea 407 as unfinalized characters according to the same processing asthe processing for the above-described input of the “k” key.

When the user inputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110 in thisstate, the CPU 101 determines that the pressed key is the specific keyin step S1004, unlike the processing for the above-described input ofthe “k” key. Then, in step S1005, the CPU 101 further determines whetherthere is any unfinalized character by executing the key input processingunit 112.

Since unfinalized characters “Kyou (kanji)” are displayed at this time,in step S1003, the CPU 101 performs the same processing as theprocessing for normal pressing of the “ENTER” key on the soft keyboard(the process for finalizing unfinalized characters).

Further, in this state, the user sequentially inputs the “h” key, the“a” key, and the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110. Then, the CPU101 executes the key input processing unit 112 to display “Kyou ha(kanji and hiragana)” in the input area 407 on the soft keyboard screenin a finalized state according to the same processing as the processingfor the above-described key input of the “ENTER” key.

Further, when the user sequentially inputs the “h”, “a”, “r”, “e”, and“SPACE/CONVERT” keys from the USB keyboard 110, the key input processingunit 112 displays “Kyou ha hare (kanji and hiragana)” in the input area407 on the soft keyboard screen according to the same processing as theprocessing for the above-described input of the “k” key. At this time,“Kyou ha (kanji and hiragara)” is in the finalized state, while “hare(kanji and hiragara)” is in the unfinalized state.

Further, when the user inputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110,the CPU 101 executes the key input processing unit 112 to display “Kyouha hare (kanji and hiragana)” in the input area 407 on the soft keyboardscreen in the finalized state according to the same processing as theprocessing for the above-described input of the “ENTER” key.

When the user further inputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110in this state, the CPU 101 determines that there is no unfinalizedcharacter in step S1005, unlike the above-described input of the “ENTER”key. Then, in step S1006, the CPU 101 further determines whether aninput of a plurality of lines is prohibited by executing the key inputprocessing unit 112.

In this example, “1” is set as the maximum number of enterable lineswhich is a parameter passed from the status determination unit 111 whenthe soft keyboard screen is displayed, and therefore the CPU 101determines that an input of a plurality of lines is prohibited.Therefore, in step S1007, the CPU 101 performs the processing of closingthe soft keyboard screen based on the determination that the key inputis an input of the “ENTER” key as the specific key by executing the keyinput processing unit 112.

At this time, the CPU 101 stores the characters input in the input area407 in the RAM of the memory 102 in such a manner that the inputcharacters are associated with the calling item, and closes the displayof the soft keyboard screen. Then, the CPU 101 displays the charactersstored in the RAM of the memory 102 in the area corresponding to thecalling item when the CPU 101 displays the screen including the callingitem illustrated in FIG. 4A on the display unit 105. Then, theprocessing is ended.

According to the above-described processing, a user can perform a seriesof operations from a character input to a close of the soft keyboardscreen only by inputs from the USB keyboard 110.

Especially, after the user finishes inputting characters from the USBkeyboard 110 while the soft keyboard screen is displayed, the user doesnot have to be bothered to move his/her hand from the USB keyboard 110to the operation unit 106 of the image forming apparatus to close thedisplay of the soft keyboard screen.

The present exemplary embodiment converts unfinalized characters tofinalized characters word by word when the user inputs “Kyou ha hare(kanji and hiragana)”. However, characters may be collectively convertedinto the finalized state as a whole character string, or may beindividually converted into the finalized state character by character(these conversion manners are also possible in other embodiments thatwill be described below).

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, all character are inputfrom the USB keyboard 110, but a part of characters or all charactersmay be input from the soft keyboard (characters may be also inputalternatively from the soft keyboard and the USB keyboard, and the sameapplies to the other embodiments that will be described below).

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, since the input mode is“HIRAGANA AND KANJI”, the unfinalized character is displayed in theinput area 407. However, even if the input mode is “ALPHABET” or “FIXEDPHRASE” when characters are input, the soft keyboard screen can beclosed by an input from the USB keyboard (this is also possible if theinput mode is not “ALPHABET”, and the same applies to the otherembodiments that will be described below).

The present exemplary embodiment converts a key input from the USBkeyboard 110 to the same value as the key ID obtained when a key on thesoft keyboard is pressed. However, an input from the USB keyboard may bereflected onto the soft keyboard screen by another method such asconversion into a character string (the same applies to the otherembodiments that will be described below).

Further, the present exemplary embodiment determines in step S1002whether a key input is an input from the USB keyboard 110. However, evenan input from the soft keyboard can close the soft keyboard screen byperforming the processing from step S1004 to step S1007 (thedetermination in step S1002 may be omitted, and the same applies to theother embodiments that will be described below).

In the present exemplary embodiment, the soft keyboard screen isautomatically closed by pressing of the ENTER key from the USB keyboardin step S1007. However, the key input processing unit 112 may display amodal dialog 1101 as illustrated in FIG. 11 on the display unit 105, andallow a user to determine whether to close the soft keyboard screen (thesame applies to the other embodiments that will be described below). The“modal dialog” means a dialog box of a type prohibiting user's anotheroperation until the user closes the opened dialog box.

The present exemplary embodiment is described based on an example inwhich the CPU 101 makes the determinations in steps S1005 and S1006after the CPU 101 determines that the key input is the specific key instep S1004 regardless of which item of “SUBJECT”, “TEXT”, “ADDRESS”, and“PASSWORD” is input, and then the CPU 101 closes the display of the softkeyboard screen in step S1007 according to the results of thedeterminations made in steps S1005 and S1006.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above processingflow, and a different processing flow may be performed according an itemspecified as an input item. More specifically, when “SUBJECT” isspecified as an input item, the CPU 101 may perform the processing instep S1007 without making the determination in step S1006 if the CPU 101determines that there is no unfinalized character in step S1005.

Further, when “ADDRESS” or “PASSWORD” is specified as an input item, theCPU 101 may perform the processing in step S1007 without making thedetermination in steps S1005 and S1006 when pressing of the specific keyis detected in step S1004. Furthermore, when “TEXT” is specified as aninput item, the CPU 101 may insert a line break without closing the softkeyboard screen even if the user presses the specific key.

The first exemplary embodiment is described based on an example in whichthe CPU 101 determines whether to close the soft keyboard screen basedon the determination whether an input of a plurality of lines isprohibited as illustrated in step S1006 in FIG. 10.

As a second exemplary embodiment, a description will be given ofprocessing for closing the soft keyboard screen by another determinationmethod different from that in the first exemplary embodiment. Sincebasic operations and control contents in the second exemplary embodimentare similar to those in the first exemplary embodiment, only differencesfrom the first exemplary embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 12.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of data processingprocedure performed by the image forming apparatus according to thepresent exemplary embodiment. The present exemplary embodiment is anexample of display control for closing the soft keyboard screen if alimit of the number of input lines satisfies a preset condition. The CPU101 loads the control programs stored in the program memory unit 115onto the memory 102, and executes them, so that each step in theflowchart illustrated in FIG. 12 can be realized. The control programsinclude the USB keyboard processing unit 108, the input/outputprocessing unit 103, the soft keyboard processing unit 107, the statusdetermination unit 111, the key input processing unit 112, theconnection detection unit 113, and the hard key input processing unit114.

First, the CPU 101 displays the soft keyboard screen on the display unit105. Then, a user performs a key input from the USB keyboard 110.

Then, in step S1005, if the key input is an input of the “ENTER” key,and there is no unfinalized character in the input area 407 (NO in stepS1005), the processing proceeds to step S1201. In step S1201, the CPU101 acquires an input line number indicating which line in the inputarea 407 the user is currently inputting using the status determinationunit 111, and determines whether the current input line number is equalto the maximum number of lines.

More specifically, the key input processing unit 112 receives a key IDand a USB keyboard flag from the hard key processing unit 114 via theinput/output processing unit 103 and the soft keyboard processing unit107. Further, the key input processing unit 112 acquires the input linenumber indicating which line in the input area 407 the user is currentlyinputting using the status determination unit 111.

Furthermore, the key input processing unit 112 acquires the value of theparameter “MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ENTERABLE LINES” used in the display of thekeyboard screen of the calling item which calls the soft keyboard screencurrently displayed.

In step S1201, the CPU 101 executes the key input processing unit 112 tocompare the current input line number to the value of the maximum numberof enterable lines to determine whether the current input line numbercoincides with the value of the maximum number of enterable lines. Ifthe CPU 101 determines that the current input line number is differentfrom the value of the maximum number of enterable lines (NO in stepS1201), in step S1003, the CPU 101 performs the same processing as theprocessing for a soft key, and the processing is ended. The processingperformed in step S1003 corresponds to the key ID of the pressed key onthe USB keyboard. For example, if the pressed key is a character key,the CPU 101 inputs a character. Examples of the character include thehiragana characters, the katakana characters, symbols, alphabets, andnumbers.

On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that the current input linenumber coincides with the value of the maximum number of enterable lines(YES in step S1201), in step S1007, the CPU 101 closes the soft keyboardby executing the key input processing unit 112, and then the processingis ended. The above processing will be further described with referenceto a specific example.

Specific Example

A description will be given of processing of displaying the softkeyboard screen for the parameter “TEXT” illustrated in FIG. 3, andclosing the soft keyboard screen by an input from the USB keyboard. Itis assumed that an initial status of the soft keyboard screen is in theinput mode “HIRAGANA AND KANJI”, and there is no character input in theinput area 407.

First, when a user inputs an “a” key and the “ENTER” key from the USBkeyboard 110, the CPU 101 displays “a (hiragana)” in the input area 407as the finalized character. Then, the user inputs the “ENTER” key fromthe USB keyboard 110.

Since this is an input of the specific key from the USB keyboard 110 andthere is no unfinalized character in the input area 407, the processingproceeds to step S1201. In step S1201, the CPU 101 determines that thecurrent input is executed in the first line, and “4” is set as themaximum number of enterable lines (NO in step S1201), and then, in stepS1003, the CPU 101 performs the processing for the “ENTER” key on thesoft keyboard.

The “ENTER” key on the soft keyboard functions to finalize a characterif there is an unfinalized character (sets the unfinalized character asthe finalized character), and insert a line break if there is nounfinalized character. Therefore, the input of the “ENTER” key on theUSB keyboard 110 changes the current input line to the second line. Theuser can recognize it since the cursor indicating a character inputposition is moved to the second line.

Subsequently, when the user inputs an “i” key and the “ENTER” key fromthe USB keyboard 110, the CPU 101 displays “i (hiragana)” on the secondline in the input area 407 as the finalized character. Then, the userinputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110. Similarly to theprevious input of the “ENTER” key, because the current input line numberis different from the maximum number of enterable lines in step S1201,the current input line number is changed to the third line.

Subsequently, when the user inputs a “u” key and the “ENTER” key fromthe USB keyboard 110, the CPU 101 displays “u (hiragana)” on the thirdline in the input area 407 as the finalized character. Then, the userinputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110.

Accordingly, similarly to the previous input of the “ENTER” key, becausethe current input line number is different from the maximum number ofenterable lines in step S1201, the current input line number is changedto the fourth line.

Subsequently, when the user inputs an “e” key and the “ENTER” key fromthe USB keyboard 110, the CPU 101 displays “e (hiragana)” on the fourthline in the input area 407 as the finalized character.

Then, the user inputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110. Unlikethe previous input of the “ENTER” key, the current input line numbercoincides with the maximum number of enterable lines in step S1201 (YESin step S1201). Therefore, if the user further inputs the “ENTER” key onthe USB keyboard 110, then in step S1007, the CPU 101 closes the softkeyboard screen. Then, the processing is ended. At this time, the CPU101 stores the character strings input in the input area 407 in the RAMof the memory 102 as finalized characters, and then closes the softkeyboard screen. The present exemplary embodiment is described based onan example having “4” as the limit number of input lines, but the numbercan be arbitrarily set by a user.

Accordingly, the CPU 101 can close the soft keyboard screen by an inputfrom the USB keyboard 110 even if the soft keyboard screen allows aninput of a plurality of lines. In the present exemplary embodiment, theCPU 101 determines in step S1201 whether the current input line numbercoincides with the maximum number of enterable lines. However, the CPU101 can determine whether the current input character number coincideswith the maximum number of enterable characters.

Further, the CPU 101 can similarly make a determination with use of, forexample, the maximum character length, or the maximum number ofcharacters for each line in the input area 407 on the soft keyboardscreen.

Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, the CPU 101 determines instep S1201 whether the current input line number coincides with themaximum number of enterable lines. However, the CPU 101 may count howmany times the specific key is pressed consecutively by executing thekey input processing unit 112, and close the soft keyboard screen whenthe number of times that the specific key is pressed becomes equal to orlarger than a predetermined number.

The present exemplary embodiment is described based on an example inwhich the CPU 101 makes the determinations in steps S1005 and S1201after the CPU 101 determines that the key input is the specific key instep S1004 regardless of which item of “SUBJECT”, “TEXT”, “ADDRESS”, and“PASSWORD” is input, and then the CPU 101 closes the display of the softkeyboard screen in step S1007 according to the results of thedeterminations made in steps S1005 and S1201.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above processingflow, and a different processing flow may be performed according an itemspecified as an input item. More specifically, when “SUBJECT” isspecified as an input item, the CPU 101 may perform the processing instep S1007 without making the determination in step S1201 if the CPU 101determines that there is no unfinalized character in step S1005.Further, when “ADDRESS” or “PASSWORD” is specified as an input item, theCPU 101 may perform the processing in step S1007 without making thedetermination in steps S1005 and S1201 when pressing of the specific keyis detected in step S1004.

Further, when “TEXT” is specified as an input item, the CPU 101 maydetermine whether the current input line number coincides with the valueof the maximum number of enterable lines when the specific key ispressed, and then the CPU 101 may close the soft keyboard screen if thecurrent input line number coincides with the value of the maximum numberof enterable lines. On the other hand, the CPU 101 may insert a linebreak without closing the soft keyboard screen if the CPU 101 determinesthat the current input line number is different from the value of themaximum number of enterable lines.

The first exemplary embodiment is described based on an example in whichthe CPU 101 determines whether to close the soft keyboard screen basedon the determination whether an input of a plurality of lines isprohibited in step S1006. As a third exemplary embodiment, a descriptionwill be given of an example for closing the soft keyboard screen byanother determination method different from that in step S1006 in thefirst exemplary embodiment.

Since basic operations and control contents in the third exemplaryembodiment are similar to those in the first exemplary embodiment, onlydifferences from the first exemplary embodiment will be described withreference to a flowchart in FIG. 13.

FIG. 13 is the flowchart illustrating an example of data processingprocedure performed by the image forming apparatus according to thepresent exemplary embodiment. The present exemplary embodiment is anexample of display control for closing the soft keyboard screen if acondition that a character string input by a key operation coincideswith a preset keyword character string is satisfied. The CPU 101 loadsthe control programs stored in the program memory unit 115 onto thememory 102, and executes them, so that each step in the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 13 can be realized. The control programs include theUSB keyboard processing unit 108, the input/output processing unit 103,the soft keyboard processing unit 107, the status determination unit111, the key input processing unit 112, the connection detection unit113, and the hard key input processing unit 114.

First, the CPU 101 displays the soft keyboard screen on the display unit105. Then, a user performs a key input from the USB keyboard 110.

In step S1005, if the CPU 101 determines that the key input is the“ENTER” key and there is no unfinalized character in the input area 407(NO in step S1005), then in step S1301, the CPU 101 determines whether aspecific keyword is already input. The determination in step S1301 willbe described below.

In step S1301, the CPU 101 acquires the character string displayed inthe input area 407 from the RAM of the memory 102 by executing the keyinput processing unit 112. Then, the CPU 101 determines whether theacquired character string contains a keyword stored in advance in thememory 102 by executing the key input processing unit 112. As a result,if the CPU 101 determines that the keyword is not contained (NO in stepS1301), then in step S1003, the CPU 101 performs the same processing asthe processing for a soft key. Then, the processing is ended.

On the other hand, if the CPU 101 determines that the keyword iscontained (YES in step S1301), then in step S1007, the CPU 101 closesthe soft keyboard by executing the key input processing unit 112. Then,the processing is ended. The above processing will be further describedwith reference to a specific example.

Specific Example

A description will be given of processing of displaying the softkeyboard screen for the parameter “ADDRESS” illustrated in FIG. 3, andclosing the soft keyboard screen by an input from the USB keyboard. Itis assumed that an initial status of the soft keyboard screen is in theinput mode “ALPHABET”, and there is no character input in the input area407. Further, “@vwxyz” is stored in the memory 102 as the specifickeyword.

First, when a user inputs a “k” key from the USB keyboard 110, the CPU101 displays “k” in the input area 407 as the finalized character.Subsequently, the user sequentially inputs “u”, “n”, “o”, “@”, “v”, “w”,“x”, and “y” keys from the USB keyboard 110. Accordingly, the CPU 101displays “kuno@vwxy” in the input area 407 as the finalized characterswhile storing these characters in the RAM of the memory 102. When theuser inputs the “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110 in this state,since this is an input of the specific key from the USB keyboard andthere is no unfinalized character in the input area 407, the processingproceeds to the determination in step S1301.

In step S1301, the CPU 101 determines whether the character string inthe input area 407 contains the keyword “@vwxyz”. Since the characterstring does not contain the keyword (NO in step S1301, the last “z” isnot yet input), in step S1003, the CPU 101 performs the same processingas the processing for pressing of a soft key. The present exemplaryembodiment is described based on an example having “@vwxyz” as a keywordcharacter string. However, for example, the number of characters can bearbitrarily set by a user.

At this time, since there is no unfinalized character in the input area407, and the maximum number of enterable lines for the current softkeyboard screen is “1”, the CPU 101 outputs an error message indicatingthat the input is invalid (according to the “correspondence tablecontaining processing corresponding to key IDs and input statuses”).

Subsequently, when the user inputs the “z” key from the USB keyboard110, the CPU 101 displays “kuno@vwxyz” in the input area 407 as thefinalized characters. When the user inputs “ENTER” key from the USBkeyboard 110 in this state, since this is an input of the specific keyfrom the USB keyboard and there is no unfinalized character in the inputarea 407, in step S1301, the CPU 101 determines whether the characterstring contains the keyword. The CPU 101 determines that the characterstring contains the keyword (YES in step S1301), and then in step S1007,unlike the previous input of the “ENTER” key, the CPU 101 closes thesoft keyboard screen, and the processing is ended.

Accordingly, a user can close the soft keyboard screen by an input fromthe USB keyboard if the user has already input the specific keyword.

In the present exemplary embodiment, if a user inputs a character intoan item that is not the “ADDRESS”, the soft keyboard screen may not beclosed even if the specific keyword is already input and the user inputsthe “ENTER” key from the USB keyboard 110.

According to the above-described exemplary embodiments, a user canperform not only a character input on the soft keyboard but also aseries of operations from the character input to a close of the softkeyboard screen from the hard keyboard, so that user's operability canbe improved.

Further, since a user can use a key of the hard keyboard keys that isused in a character input on the soft keyboard to close the softkeyboard screen, the user can close the soft keyboard screenintuitively.

Aspects of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of asystem or apparatus (or devices such as a CPU, micro-processing unit(MPU), and/or the like) that reads out and executes a program recordedon a memory device to perform the functions of the above-describedembodiment(s), and by a method, the steps of which are performed by acomputer of a system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting a program recorded on a memory device to perform the functionsof the above-described embodiment(s). For this purpose, the program isprovided to the computer for example via a network or from a recordingmedium of various types serving as the memory device (e.g., acomputer-readable medium).

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all modifications, equivalent structures, and functions.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2010-108280 filed May 10, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image processing apparatus comprising: a firstreceiving unit configured to receive a character for an input item via asoftware keyboard displayed on a display unit; a second receiving unitconfigured to receive a character for the input item via a hardwarekeyboard, the hardware keyboard including a predetermined key forfinalizing an unfinalized character; and a control unit configured tocontrol to finalize, in a case where the predetermined key is pressed ina state that the received character includes an unfinalized character,the unfinalized character, and to control to close a display of thesoftware keyboard displayed on the display unit in a case where thepredetermined key is pressed in a state that the received character doesnot include an unfinalized character.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls toclose the display of the software keyboard displayed on the display unitin a case where the received character does not include an unfinalizedcharacter and a plurality of lines cannot be input for the input item.3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a display control unit configured to control the displayunit to display a screen for allowing a user to select whether to closethe display of the software keyboard displayed on the display unit in acase where the predetermined key is pressed in a state that the receivedcharacter does not include an unfinalized character, wherein the controlunit controls to close the display of the software keyboard displayed onthe display unit in a case where the user selects to close the displayof the software keyboard via the displayed screen and the predeterminedkey is pressed in a state that the received character does not includean unfinalized character.
 4. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the predetermined key is an enter key. 5.A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, the methodcomprising: receiving a character for an input item via a softwarekeyboard displayed on a display unit; receiving a character for theinput item via a hardware keyboard, the hardware keyboard including apredetermined key for finalizing an unfinalized character; controllingto finalize, in a case where the predetermined key is pressed in a statethat the received character includes an unfinalized character, theunfinalized character; and controlling to close a display of thesoftware keyboard displayed on the display unit in a case where thepredetermined key is pressed in a state that the received character doesnot include an unfinalized character.
 6. A non-transitory computerreadable storage medium for storing a computer program for controllingan information processing apparatus, the computer program comprising: acode to receive a character for an input item via a software keyboarddisplayed on a display unit; a code to receive a character for the inputitem via a hardware keyboard, the hardware keyboard including apredetermined key for finalizing an unfinalized character; and a code tocontrol to finalize, in a case where the predetermined key is pressed ina state that the received character includes an unfinalized character,the unfinalized character, and to control to close a display of thesoftware keyboard displayed on the display unit in a case where thepredetermined key is pressed in a state that the received character doesnot include an unfinalized character.